French Public Broadcasting License Fee Abolition Bill Passes National Assembly

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] The abolition of the TV license fee, one of French President Emmanuel Macron's election pledges, has passed the National Assembly.

According to foreign media, the French National Assembly passed the bill on the 23rd (local time) with 170 votes in favor and 57 against, and sent it to the Senate.

The loss caused by eliminating the license fee, which had been collected annually at 138 euros (about 180,000 won) from approximately 23 million households with TVs installed, will be compensated by value-added tax generated in other sectors. Public broadcasters such as France T?l?visions, Radio France, Arte, TV5 Monde, and France M?dias Monde are guaranteed a budget of 3.7 billion euros (about 5 trillion won) for the following year. This funding method will only be applied until 2025, and alternative funding plans must be prepared within three years.

The bill submitted by the ruling party was supported by the center-right Republicans (LR) and the far-right National Rally (RN), while the main opposition left-wing coalition NUPES opposed it. Although LR supported the bill, they argued that a permanent funding plan for public broadcasting should be studied, and RN stated that beyond abolishing the license fee, France T?l?visions and Radio France should be privatized.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.